"Do you think I'll really get to see a mushroom ring?" Gu Xiaoxia kept asking along the way. "And Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus..."
"We won't be able to see Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus yet. Mainly, it's the wrong time of year. When it blooms in June or July, we might have a chance if we have three to five days to climb toward the snowy mountains. But if you want to see a mushroom ring, that's much easier."
"Really?" Gu Xiaoxia was like a child who had never grown up, sitting on the bicycle's rear rack and chattering nonstop.
Li Long could tell that Gu Xiaoxia had probably spent a long time repressing herself because of her family circumstances. Now that she had a job and her father was doing well, those thoughts she had once suppressed were slowly coming out.
That was good. She was a young woman, after all. Being old before her time wasn't a good thing.
"I'll take you somewhere," Li Long said. "You can find mushroom rings there. If you're lucky, you might even see wild boars, wild sheep, and things like that. Of course, that'll depend on your luck today."
"My luck..." Gu Xiaoxia's voice suddenly sank.
"I think your luck is definitely going to be good today!" Sensing something, Li Long interrupted her. "Trust me. You can't go wrong."
Warmth filled Gu Xiaoxia's heart.
"Look over here. I shot wild boars here before. See that patch of churned-up soil and grass roots? Some wild boars were here several days ago, and I shot them. I caught some piglets too. After that, the herd stopped coming here."
"Really? Were the piglets fun?"
"Quite fun. Even that small, they weren't afraid of people and already knew how to butt you. Really wild little things."
They